Baseball mitt



Jan. 20, 1953 H. B. LATINA 2,625,686

BASEBALL MHT Filed June 7, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1' lNvaNToR: HARRY B. LATINA ATTORN EYS `Ian. 20, 1953 H, B, LAT|NA 2,625,686

BASEBALL MITT Filed June 7, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR: HARRY B, LATINA ATToN/EYS.

Patented Jan. 20, 1953 weit.

6 (Cla This. inve.ationl lielates. to. baseball: rilitts. Qtthe type-.shown in my.. ation Patent: N 22815021.55.

issued@ Ala-latte@ wtereiaiiieu ball mit, charaotetizssi; the iomaiiee. 0.1 e.

the mit..

. 1i. isA an Qblei @iY this intenti@ i0' Pmi-.1de baseball mtt of, the` above o har34ste;'url ieh-y V`vsghill meet the. rules,l regulations., and otllel; ljegilire.,- ments of the poiessonal organizations by4 liayfe. lng. means which will. maintain the.' distance or .spacing between.'` the uespeetive finger auqtbulnb, H1505'actions` 0i? the. mitt ivithiziz. the.' 11,1 mensonlspeeied;

Itis. an object of tliepiteserii iai/.trillian i pravidet a baseball mitthafviiig- Sep te postete@ projections or the thumb and. 'fjr thefnaels, and' an. intermediate hamster? pioiiimf egilllt ihich the impe-etui a Caught. ball. taken' e991; in the. furthepro ision. Qi meaps toitV c 9re-, tively inteiiconngentme i111, Qi. me. trofietigiis f0.1: the purpose. of.` diSllIblllllg 11.119391. 510.1412115. throughout the miti.. ansi; giteaiix to. @mais the wearing life thereof'.

1i is. a further object of. the Presseiiiivfritpri. to. proud@ a baseball. miti., Qi. the Qharafai'e? @lieve intimated; wherein. the thump and. 'linger prof, Jetions are fixed in a definite Spaseireleltibri.

ayxol the bakstop on; ihtermeoliate' projection is iiexibiy, and. aliiisiabiy' ciiieted l/ Qh' the 're'- sseciive thumb. and. friiaerpiqieiiehs. i9 feci-1iiaie the. initial. shaping. Qi'iiie. miti, i0. a vieillir-S had and thereaftei; to assi-.st iii; the lzeteiftiohof $11.211. Shapedbei` objects and advantages lier-eet` Wil-l be InoueA pa'rticulxly polluteda "ogutaigl' desifbed Yin connection with theaecoljlpanying draWi-r'lgjllustrating a' preferldfeinbdiifif Gf.' @515199111111 mit-t and wherein.

Eig. 1 is a f ront'vlewof a baseball tniftt formed and constructed in aocorlanee with 'the present invention and in'wliich the fangpieee'of.` the mitt isshaped to define the ball receiving pocket, Fig. 2 isV a rearl view of the present baseball mitt illustrating further details thereof and par: tieulaitly showing! the' meansifor. "interconnecting the proje't'ng gqutols'lof'the'flitt bodyto Geni tzfol the 'desired shape'ttlie glitt;

Fig. 3j is a flfagmeutaliydetal of a mitt backing piece which illustl-latee'tlie'form"arid relatiozio proj eetlons which .are herein 'provided' fo): o'lmf ing thumb and fingel=-lleketa L'Fi. e is .a 'view similar gf ItJ but particu:-

lau-y,... illustrating... the., ntt basti-ne niet@E drawn together by a `coritrolstuag Eig. aise. sectional detail et 1.11.1 l Eig? 4L Eiefs, 6., aus. '1; atei freut. @esi rear.' View. i'aeif tiueiy.- Q-.f a andere@ @Qiisieistiiui of? Sita?. meansilliistilaidiii Eig 13. F' ais at iis @rse @tiptel @leiletigllel tiet atilii. i-.lizfiiifiia tl 111g 9;- is a. feesie.. Herseettiya View 11.111,5: im emaille@ @etw-112.1112 Qt tba iin i9? 121.gif. i ansi. 2. it eafiiuiaa the Presently eremita@ has. 3.1.1. miti. is waait( Qil a @athis 0r' @gli Hl iri with 'the @elle il jections so that all portions of the mitt body will be subjected to impact strains. In order to obtain this intercooperation between the several body projections, a strap means 20 is arranged adjacent the backing piece of the mitt body and is adapted to be secured in xed relation to the projections Il and I8 and to extend through a loop element 2| provided in the projection I9. The loop 2i is conveniently formed by providing laterally spaced and parallel slots 22, cut or otherwise formed near the outer end of the projection I9. In addition to the provision of strap 20, the backstop projection formed by the respective facing and backing projections I6 and i9 may be flexibly and adjustably interconnected with the adjacent thumb and finger projections of the mitt body by means of the lacings shown at 23 and v24. It thus will be apparent that the strap means 20 has a sliding or loose iit in the loop 2l, and that the lateral positionment of the backstop is effectively determined by selectively tightening or loosening the lacings 23 and 24.

The strap means 20, of Figs. 6, 7 and 8, comprises an elongated body 26 which acts as a protective covering by having its longitudinal margins folded or lapped as at 21 to forrn a suitable elongated space for a tension strip 28. The strip 23 is formed of an inelastic or non-stretchable material and is suitably secured to the body 26 between the folded margin portions 21 thereof, but it is obvious that the folded parts 21 could be extended to cover strip 28. The tension strip or element 23 is extended beyond the opposite ends of the strap body 2t to provide end portions 29 which are utilized to secure the strap to the respective thumb and iinger projections, I1 and i3 of the backing piece. The means for securing ends 29 is shown at 30, in the form of a suitable rivet. The exposed riveted connection between the strap and the backing piece is adapted to be covered by an enlarged tab 3l formed at each end of the strap 20 through the provision of an extension of the material of the body 25. References are also made to Fig. 9, wherein details of securement of one end of the strap 2t is fully shown, it being noted that the covering tab 3l has been lifted or turned back to illustrate the riveted anchorage of the strap tension element 28. Additional details of the preferred manner securing strap 2i) may be had upon references to Fig. 5.

Having now described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it can be readily appreciated that the strap means 20 performs the important functions of maintaining the distance between the respective mitt projections, greatly aiding the respective mitt projections to retain a desired alignment and distributing the impact strains on the intermediate projection or backstop to each of the adjacent projections of the mitt body. The strain distribution through the projections of the mitt materially increases the wearing life of the material. The strap .means 28 also and importantly retains the thumb and finger projections in cooperative relation to the backstop to enable a more positive ball trapping reaction of the several projections during the act of catching a ball. In other words, the impact of a caught ball, being transmitted from the backstop to the strap 20 and lacings 23 and 24, acts to' draw the thumb and linger projections around the ball. The advantage provided by strap 20 is in no wise offset by its connection with the backstop, and it is now obvious from the above description that the backstop may be laterally adjusted through resetting the lacings 23 and 24.

Having now described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood that certain modifications and alterations may be made herein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A baseball mitt comprising facing and backing pieces together forming a mitt body characterized by the provision of body projections defining thumb and finger stalls and a backstop therebetween, lacings between and exibly attaching said backstop to said thumb and finger stalls to shape the mitt body and provide a ball receiving pocket, and inelastic strap means secured to said body projections and movably connected with said backstop for retaining said pro jections in spaced, ball catching cooperation.

2. A baseball mitt comprising a facing and a backing together forming a mitt body, and in which the facing and backing thereof are cut to provide superposed projections dening respectively a thumb stall. a backstop, and a linger stall, lacings between and interconnecting said backstop and said thumb and finger stall projections for forming a bail receiving pocket in the mitt body, a strap fixed to each of said thumb and finger stall projections and extending across the back of said backstop for fixing the spacing of said thumb and finger stall projections against increased spacing under impact of a caught ball.

3. In a baseball mitt, a body formed to provide three projections extending in side-by-side relationship to define a ball receiving pocket, outer ones of said projections providing thumb and linger stalls and an intermediate one of said projections providing a backstop for the ballreceiving pocket, lacing means interconnecting said projections along the adjacent margins thereof to provide iiexibility of movement of said outer projections relative to said backstop projection for closing on a ball striking in the ball receiving pocket, and a control strap anchored at its ends in the back of said outer projections to limit the maximum distance therebetween, said control strap being positioned to pass behind said intermediate projection.

4. In a baseball mitt, a body formed of pliable material shaped to provide three projections dening a ball-receiving pocket, said body projections consisting of spaced projections having thumb and finger stalls and an intermediate projection forming a backstop for the ball-receiving pocket, lacing means joining the lateral margins of said intermediate projection with the adjacent margins of said spaced projections along substantially the full length thereof to near the outer extremities, said lacing means permitting iiexibility of movement of said outer projections relative to said backstop projection and interconnecting said projections for conjoint action to close on a ball striking in the ball-receiving pocket, and a control strap extending across the back of said intermediate projection near the outer extremity thereof and having its ends connected into the back of said spaced projections to iix the maximum distance between said spaced projections.

5. In a baseball mitt, a body having two spaced projections providing thumb and finger stalls at each side of a ball-receiving pocket and an intermediate projection substantially filling the space between said two projections and providing a backstop'for the ball-receiving pocket, lacings interconnecting the opposite margins of said intermediate projection with the adjacent margins of said two projections to provide relative movement between said projections for closing about a ball striking in said pocket, and a substantially inelastic control strap slidably connected with said intermediate projection adjacent the outer end thereof, said strap being anchored at its ends in the back of said two projections to iix the maximum distance between said two projections.

6. In a baseball mitt, a body having a ballreceiving pocket formed with a projection having a thumb stall, a projection having a stall for the four iingers and a backstop projection separating the iirst mentioned projections and occupying a substantial area of the space therebetween; lacings interconnecting the opposite margins of said backstop along the adjacent margins of said iirst mentioned projections, said lacings allowing hinging movement of said rst mentioned proj ectons relative tosaid backstop in closing about a ball striking in the ball-receiving pocket; and a control strap slidably connected at the back of said backstop projection and anchored at its ends in the back of said first mentioned projections, said strap being located adjacent the outer ends of all said projections to maintain said first mentioned projections against spreading to increase the width of the ball-receiving pocket. HARRY B. LATINA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,113,934 Denkert Apr. 12, 1938 2,485,882 Hilton Oct. 25, 1949 2,510,218v Goldsmith et al. June 6, 1950 

